The present disclosure relates generally to systems and method for delivery of devices along a transport path, such as fastening equipment systems for delivering fasteners to a workpiece, for example, a portion of an aircraft.
In the production assembly of aircraft, for example, the substructure of aircraft, such as fuselage frames, along with wing spars and ribs, are joined to the skin of the aircraft with thousands of fasteners. These fasteners are of a multitude of types having variations in diameters and grip lengths. The installation of fasteners in relatively large aircraft substructures and skins is typically performed either manually or by automated fastening equipment.
Delivery systems for delivering the fasteners to the workpiece of the aircraft generally include a storage device for the fasteners and a mechanism or system that transports fasteners from the storage device to the workpiece or fastening device. For example, in some known systems, a suction head (that forms part of a pneumatic system) removes fasteners from a storage area and delivers the fasteners through a delivery tube using a vacuum. The fasteners are individually stored in holes of a predetermined or fixed depth, and only one fastener may be stored in any given hole. Accordingly, each hole contains a fastener of a specific configuration, diameter, and grip length.
The fastener delivery system generally includes a number of tubes that are used to transport the fasteners of different sizes (in different transport tubes) from one location to another. For example, in conventional fastener delivery systems, one tube is provided for the delivery of each specific size of product, for example, bolts, nuts, etc. Thus, because of the large number of different sizes of fasteners, a large number of transportation tubes (having different diameters) are used from a holding area to the aircraft, for example, from a general station to a point of use station at the aircraft. As the number of different types and sizes of fasteners used increases, the number of tubes increases, resulting in a very large system of tubes that can become unmanageable quickly. In some instances, the number of tubes needed is not simply cumbersome, but not possible to implement because of space constraints. Additionally, in cases where an end point of use station is situated along a portion of the aircraft, such as the wing while the wing is being drilled and prepared for the various fasteners, having a large number of tubes, such as banded together, is cumbersome and sometimes unmanageable, or makes difficult maneuvering the end point of use station along the wing.